Volume 35, Number 1, 2011

Phytoremediation – the use of plants and its associated microbial communities in the rizosphere to degrade, isolate and immobilize contaminants in soil and water – is a relatively cheap technique with aesthetic advantages free of additional impacts. However, most studies with plants to recover contaminated sites have been carried out in countries with temperate climate, where the potential of phytoremediation is limited by climate factors. In Brazil, knowledge regarding the phytoremediation potential of different species for tropical soils is still […]

In view of the size of the Amazon region and the need to establish connections between landscape and soil characteristics, the aim of this study was to investigate soil-landscape relationships in a toposequence on granite substrate in Santo. Antônio Matupi, Manicoré, AM. The study was carried out along a transect of 3,000 m from the top downwards, where different slope segments were identified. Profile pits were opened in each slope segment, the soils were morphologically characterized and samples collected from […]

The occurrence of Umbric Ferralsols with thick umbric epipedons (> 100 cm thickness) in humid Tropical and Subtropical areas is a paradox since the processes of organic matter decomposition in these environments are very efficient. Nevertheless, this soil type has been reported in areas in the Southeast and South of Brazil, and at some places in the Northeast. Aspects of the genesis and paleoenvironmental significance of these Ferralsols still need a better understanding. The processes that made the umbric horizons […]

The evolution of organic matter sources in soil is related to climate and vegetation dynamics in the past recorded in paleoenvironmental Quaternary deposits such as peatlands. For this reason, a Histosol of the mineralotrophic peatland from the Pau-de-Fruta Special Protection Area – SPA, Espinhaço Meridional, State of Minas Gerais, was described and characterized to evidence the soil constituent materials and properties as related to changes in environmental conditions, supported by the isotopic and elementary characterization of soil C and N […]

More effective methodologies to determine the soil class distribution must be evaluated in order to meet the demand for soil maps at regional and global scales. In this study, logistic regressions were used as predictive models in an application of Digital Soil Mapping. The models were derived from an existing soil map as dependent variable and terrain attributes as independent variables. The probability of finding soil classes in the landscape at the 1st and 2nd Categorical Level of the Brazilian […]

The conversion of native forests by cutting and burning into farming areas leads to alterations in the dynamics of soil organic matter, with changes in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs: CO2, CH4 and N2O) from the biosphere to the atmosphere. These cause an average temperature rise and, consequently, global climate change. The aim of this study was to examine relationships between the fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O with moisture, microbial biomass and inorganic N forms in soil with different […]

The clay fraction mineralogy and the granular structure of Oxisols in the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) are the reason for the great volume of large pores as well as of extremely small pores, but no significant medium pore volume, resulting in low available water for plants. This study aimed to characterize and model the behavior of water retention in Oxisols with different texture classes of the Cerrado region. Samples were collected from the Bw horizon of 10 Oxisols under native vegetation. […]

The monitoring of soil quality based on physical properties is important for the evaluation and maintenance of the sustainability of agricultural systems. An indicator property of soil quality should be sensitive to management changes. This study aimed to evaluate the S parameter as an indicator of soil physical quality and aggregation of an Oxisol, managed for 11 years in systems with and without the inclusion of off-season cover crops. The treatments consisted of: conventional system (SC) and conservation systems with […]

Statistical models allow the representation of data sets and the estimation and/or prediction of the behavior of a given variable through its interaction with the other variables involved in a phenomenon. Among other different statistical models, are the autoregressive state-space models (ARSS) and the linear regression models (LR), which allow the quantification of the relationships among soil-plant-atmosphere system variables. To compare the quality of the ARSS and LR models for the modeling of the relationships between soybean yield and soil […]

Air permeability (Kα) can be used to assess soil structure changes resulting from different tillage systems. This study tested the hypothesis that the reduced soil disturbance in no-tillage results in continuous pores and better soil aeration conditions. The objective was to evaluate the aeration of a Rhodic Hapludox under conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), based on soil air permeability (Kα), air-filled porosity (εa) and indices of pore continuity (K1 and N). Eighty undisturbed soil cores (2 treatments x 2 […]